Now that the cruise pause is still pausing, what are your alternate vacation plans?

[pe4all]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I mentioned the lowest above I saw last week. A rate of 23 a day, total was 450. A rate of 47 a day was 400. Havent found lower. The site I use for hotels is 62 a day ...plus taxes. Some have fees wrapped in they dont break out. One had a 129 fee added on. 23 a day plus fees is the lowest per day. But the fees make it more than higher rates.

 

And that's if i fly into orlando to save money. I did find a site might have a discount i havent worked out yet. I'd rather fly into Melbourne. I bought cape Canaveral. Been trying to find better car rates for the last week. Flying into orlando is the only savings I can find, otherwise it's even worse. Tried one week and the site for hotels couldnt return results for 7 days with a car added on. 

 

I havent found under 400 but still trying discount sites

  I go to each airport and see what rental cars are on site, then search each company individually using member rates.  Keep checking.  There are sometimes sales, and (as I am sure you know, being a savvy traveler) you can always book, cancel, rebook.

[SNJCruisers]

6 hours ago, pe4all said:

Did not know this. Explains why my usual FLL car rentals went from $80-90 per stay to over $300 for same length of stay!

That's why my only two vacationing methods are either a cruise or an adults only all inclusive.  Will probably never need to rent a car for the rest of my life.

[BlerkOne]

8 hours ago, pe4all said:

Did not know this. Explains why my usual FLL car rentals went from $80-90 per stay to over $300 for same length of stay!

Some parts of the country are still relatively inexpensive but not popular locations. One way rentals have also exploded. Might be cheaper to buy a used car and sell it later, except there is a growing shortage of them as well. New car dealers are happy, too.

[bunnyette]

On 4/23/2021 at 5:32 AM, dadroy said:

We are planning a trip to Yellowknife Canada for the northern lights in December.  Not as warm as the Caribbean, but it should be different.

Hopefully our border will fully reopen by then...and Yukon opens up to non residents.  They have closed to non-residents at the moment due to Covid concerns.

[AnitaVacation]

I couldn't take it any longer, last 3 cruises have been canceled.... We finally booked a week in the Orlando area for early June.  Quick and relatively inexpensive.  Direct flight in and out, great deals on hotels/resorts right now (although the price of the rental car will kill you...lol).

 

If our September cruise gets canceled, we are planning a week on the Gulf coast.  Apparently I cannot live without a vacation. 🙂 

 

We are fully vaxxed and ready to move about the country....

[CoasterGuy]

Just spent a week in Orlando. Visited Disney parks and Universal, and took a day trip to cocoa beach. 

 

It was a nice time but there's nothing like Disney pricing to make you miss cruising. Oh and at Cocoa Beach we saw a couple ships anchored off in the distance. They looked like Disney ships.

 

A rental for one week was $400. In my past experience it was usually around $300.

 

For now I have nothing else planned but to wait around and see if my October cruise goes. 

[pe4all]

5 more "sleeps" till DisneyWorld!

[BlerkOne]

Just in Time!

 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/27/business/summer-gasoline-shortage/index.html

 

 

[Anyislandwilldo]

This pandemic continues to rake us over the coals.

[Tippyton]

OK - mini trip report!

 

Just got back from Gatlinburg.  We rented a house in the Wear Valley area, nice and peaceful.  The biggest shock was the car rental prices.  Someone mentioned it and I had not experienced it in all my business travels, but the gal confirmed that the fleet was purged and the prices went way up in popular areas.  Over $600 for a Hyundai Sonata for a Sat-Sat rental.  When we got in town Saturday we hit up the Island in Pidgeon Forge , ate lunch, and tootled around.  It reminded me of the Kemah Boardwalk near Houston.  Sunday did the Clingman's Dome hike - it was in the 40's that morning.  Brrrr.  By the time we were done it was very busy.  On the way back we did Laurel Falls and had lunch at the falls.  Monday was Dollywood.  There were no operational water fountains, and all of the concession lines were longer than the ride lines.  The park is not open daily yet, and they have over 600 job openings - half the concessions and shops were closed.  Tuesday we wandered through Gatlinburg and drank moonshine.  Weds we went on a number of short hikes on the Quiet Trails.  Sshhhhhh - anybody going to GSMNP this is a secret - nice little walks in beautiful settings and no people.  In the PM went back to Dollywood.  Thursday we did ziplining and rafting about an hour east om the Pidgeon River.   Friday we went to Cades Cove in the morning.  We arrived around 8:00 AM and it wasn't too crowded.  Saw a bear there.  We spent about 3 hours total in the park.  After a lunch and a nap we went to Anakeesta.  Great, relaxed end to the trip.  Some random notes and takeaways.

- Pidgeon Forge and Gatlinburg were very crowded and touristy.  For some reason I did not expect that.

- I wish we had spent more time hiking and exploring the park.

- Really could have made a full day at Cades Cove as there are multiple hiking opportunities there as well.

- Anakeesta was beautiful.  Several people saw bears on the way up on the chairlift.  The prices for the food and drink were surprisingly low.  We had drinks there at the bar at the smokehouse, and $9 for a nice fancy cocktail is not bad at all, especially when the bartender is heavy handed!  Food was plentiful and very modestly priced for the value.

- No issues with gasoline availability.

- GSMNP is absolutely beautiful!  Key is to get away from people which is very hard to do.  the Laurel Falls trail looked like the ascent to Everest.

- Pancake houses seem to be a thing in PF and G-burg.

- We ate out only the day of arrival at the Island in PF.  Timbersomething Grill.  Meh.  We did have snacks at Dicks in G-burg the day we went there.

- Dollywood had mask-required signs up at the entrance.  Only about 1% of the visitors wore them.  The staff did their best to keep them on.  By our 2nd visit the signs were gone.  Only in the NP in the Gov't facilities were masks being enforced.  Those facilities were not highly visited.

 

I can try to answer questions.

[TNcruising02]

Tippyton, that sounds like a lot of fun!

[SUSIEK]

We did a week in the lower Keys in March. Rented a house on Cudjoe Key. 
 

We are in Tampa.... easy to drive. No need to fly. 

Heading to Banner Elk, NC in June for a week where we have rented a house through VRBO. Luckily we planned this several months ago and were able to rent a large suv for what the rental price is currently for a compact.  Crazy what the rental car prices are now 😳. 
 

Still.... if cruising were open we’d be there instead.  Booked Allure for March .... fingers crossed 🤞 everyone has their stuff together by then!!!! 

[miataman19]

If my August sailings get cancelled......KEY WEST !!!.. Already have my reservations . Angelinas Guest House. Have until July 22nd to cancel KW. My final payment is May 31st for the BTB sailing on Liberty. Carnival has 1 more week to give the thumbs up. Hard to cancel when you have $500 of OBC for a 4 day cruise and $200 for a 3 day...lol

[BoozinCroozin]

We are renting a timeshare from someone for a week to relax at a resort. Not sure which one yet because the deep discounts aren't available for another week or so.

[jetsfan58]

If we are all loyal Carnival Cruise Nuts then we will wait until we can cruise to vacation. Is there any other way to vacation? Certainly not compared to cruising? At least we have not found a comparable match. Be patient folks and save your money for the Seas. As soon as we all learn to follow and not "Fight" the rules, get vaccinated we will be cruising again.

[EMOSEA]

I'm booked for the end of Sept on the Glory. I'm hopeful it will sail, but if not our alternative plans are to go to a resort in Puerto Rico or Mexico (or somewhere else that lets us visit), or go on a trip with my bestie and our husbands to Maui. It's my 40th birthday so we're doing something that week whether it's a cruise or not. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by EMOSEA

[laumicmah]

22 hours ago, miataman19 said:

If my August sailings get cancelled......KEY WEST !!!.. Already have my reservations . Angelinas Guest House. Have until July 22nd to cancel KW. My final payment is May 31st for the BTB sailing on Liberty. Carnival has 1 more week to give the thumbs up. Hard to cancel when you have $500 of OBC for a 4 day cruise and $200 for a 3 day...lol

I have the $200 OBC for a 3 day on the Liberty too. For 9/7. So hoping it happens. If not, we will already be in our FL vacay place for all of Sept.

[HillBilly Bob]

On 4/17/2021 at 4:10 PM, Tippyton said:

planning a getaway to Gatlinburg TN

Being from East Tennessee....I can highly recommend your visiting.  BTW....since we live here...WE DON'T go there any longer.  LOL  

 

Our next adventure is flying to San Miguel de Allende.  We love it there and just about perfect year round temperate weather.  Enjoy Gatlinburg!!

[Knights on the Beach]

22 hours ago, jetsfan58 said:

If we are all loyal Carnival Cruise Nuts then we will wait until we can cruise to vacation. Is there any other way to vacation? Certainly not compared to cruising? At least we have not found a comparable match. Be patient folks and save your money for the Seas. As soon as we all learn to follow and not "Fight" the rules, get vaccinated we will be cruising again.

 

I'm a Carnival fan (not a nut) but why on earth would I wait to vacation because we can't cruise right now?  Cruises are great but clearly it's not the only way to vacation.  We'll be in Key West in a couple weeks for 9 days, spending a few days in New Orleans in August and a long weekend in Savannah in September.  Our next cruise will be in December on Mardi Gras - there's no need to wait that long to vacation.

[john91498]

A week in Vegas...not sure if that's a good idea or not...

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, john91498 said:

A week in Vegas...not sure if that's a good idea or not...

 

Hmmm... scorching hot, crowded, slow rideshares, pricey rental cars, buffets and entertainment are just starting to return to their pre-pandemic glory.  I don't know your preferences, but I like Las Vegas and I'd pick somewhere else to go for the next few months.

[john91498]

Plane tickets already bought. We're staying at the MGM mainly for their pools. My kids love their lazy river.

[TNcruising02]

We've been to Florida three times since the pandemic started and all three times were a lot of fun.  We plan on flying to see my husband's dad next month.  It's been 1 1/2 years since we have seen him, so that will be nice.  Then we plan on going back to Florida in July (yes, again!) and maybe cruise in August.  Cruising is definitely our favorite way to take a vacation, but it's not the only way.  We always mix it up anyway.

[ledges1]

8 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

I'm a Carnival fan (not a nut) but why on earth would I wait to vacation because we can't cruise right now?  Cruises are great but clearly it's not the only way to vacation.  We'll be in Key West in a couple weeks for 9 days, spending a few days in New Orleans in August and a long weekend in Savannah in September.  Our next cruise will be in December on Mardi Gras - there's no need to wait that long to vacation.

I was in Key West for five nights in early May. Had a great time. The mask requirement was dropped the day we arrived. The city was wide open except, Lyft, Duval Loop and the airline. A mask was required on the Duval Loop, but there was standing room only. Did not make much sense.

[Knights on the Beach]

23 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

I was in Key West for five nights in early May. Had a great time. The mask requirement was dropped the day we arrived. The city was wide open except, Lyft, Duval Loop and the airline. A mask was required on the Duval Loop, but there was standing room only. Did not make much sense.

We love Key West - we spent three weeks there last year (4th of July week, August & December).  It was definitely a different feel due to Covid but we still enjoyed it.  It was fairly quiet in town during the summer.  We spent a lot of time in/at the pool during the day so we didn't have to worry about masks.  By our December visit, there were a lot more people in town and I've heard it's been crazy busy ever since.  Several new restaurants have opened in the past 5 months that we're looking forward to trying.  🙂